This was the start the Capitals wanted.
Despite being outshot 29-21 (including 14 Bruins shots in the 1st), the Washington Capitals were in complete control of tonights game.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice, including the game winner, and Braden Holtby stopped all 29 shots for his first shutout of the year.
Nicklas Backstrom and Andre Burakovsky each had two assists, and Mike Green scored his first of the season in his first game. Green missed the season opener due an upper body injury he sustained during preseason.
The Capitals finally looked like the team they have been trying so desperately to be for the last 5 seasons as they pressured the Bruins into multiple turnovers. The Bruins looked to be scrambling throughout the night as they had a very difficult time breaking through the neutral zone. Washington's forecheck was wonderful and, again, their penalty killing was aggressive, killing all four Bruins power plays.
Ovechkin and Mike Green scored goal on the power play, giving the Caps a 2/4 night with the man advantage.
Tuuka Rask wasn't particularly good, looking just as sloppy as the rest of Boston did. The Bruins had 25 total minutes in penalties tonight to the Caps 15. It was clear that Boston was getting frustrated at the lack of progress they were making through the Caps defense, despite outshooting them.
Joel Ward rounded out the scoring, tipping in a John Carlson shot on the rush, also giving rookie Andre Burakovsky his third point in this early season. Burakovsky seems to be settling in just fine so far at the second line center role.
The entire Caps team seems to have bought in to what Barry Trotz is trying to do in Washington. Their puck pressure was something that I, as a lifetime Caps fan, have not seen in a LONG time. There was even a moment when Ovechkin circled around, after the Bruins stole the puck, and intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and broke up the play.
If the last 80 games of the season look like this, then the Caps should be in decent shape.
After losing in a shootout to Montreal on Thursday, there were questions about how the Capitals would answer that disappointment. Now the question is: Can they keep up this level of play on Tuesday against the Sharks, or even the rest of the year?
Their need for an identity may have taken its first step forward tonight, and that bodes well for Caps fans who have been waiting for this team to grow up.
More to come...
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